. >> reporter: the first major city to celebrate 2013 was auckland, new zealand. fireworks and boat horns rang in the new year. in australia, a seven-ton fireworks display dazzled hundreds of thousands in sydney. with an estimated 1 billion people watching on tv worldwide. a large crowd counted down to the new year in shanghai, china. while in tokyo, japan, buddhist monks rang bells to cleanse sins. nato soldiers serving in afghanistan took time to let loose and dance their way into 2013. nato has more than 100,000 soldiers serving in afghanistan, including some 66,000 u.s. forces. in centralr russia, these brave souls took an icy dip to greet the new year. the water temperature, a brisk 37 degrees. while in the united arab emirates, the world's tall els building set the stage for a giant celebration. in paris, tens of thousands celebrated at the eiffel tower. while in london, big ben rang out the old and rang in the new. and the tradition continued in the big apple. tens of thousands crammed into times square to officially welcome 2013. kirk gregory, nbc news. >>